Why Don’t People Get That Communism Is Not Good?

After the recent smattering of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) victories in Congressional primaries, many articles have been written trying to explain this phenomenon. Let’s be clear – be it socialism or communism, the main attraction has been, and always will be, the idea of taking from the rich to give to the less rich. It doesn’t sound so bad on paper, but the hidden agenda has a lot more to do with attaining and keeping political power.

Among the ridiculous comments I observed in reading the feedback to several articles, some are claiming that “successful” programs such as Social Security and Medicare are proofs that socialism can and does work. These commenters are either blissfully unaware of how close to collapse both of these programs are, or simply choose to have their heads in the sand about it. And, if these programs were actually “socialistic” in nature, there would be no limit on the amount of income that is subject to the tax, as there is with Social Security. 

When one of the top policy positions of most DSA candidates is “Medicare for All,” anyone who has even a basic knowledge of how limited Medicare is in its ability to help seniors should know that the “for all” part is a pipe dream. The facts are that (1) Social Security was established during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency as a stopgap to supplement seniors’ limited income, and (2) therefore, Social Security was never meant to fully support seniors, or anyone else. And when President Johnson introduced Medicare, this too was meant to provide some minimum level of health coverage for seniors, not as a be-all and end-all that today’s generations expect. 

What the new communists also fail to recognize (or choose to ignore) is that the American government is already in dire financial straits. Proposing the massive increases in government spending that their programs will surely bring, when Uncle Sam is already $40 trillion in debt, seems like the ultimate in Don Quixote foolishness. Speaking of foolishness, the smiling Marxist mayor of New York City claims that he’s already solving most of the Big Apple’s problems – never mind that his bloated budget was only made possible by significant state assistance for the coming year. Margaret Thatcher’s timeless dictum comes to mind: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” 

With this new communist movement gaining some traction, despite the obvious red flags - pun fully intended - we need to ask why (1) “establishment” Democrats (whoever they are) are allowing their party to get hijacked with the Congressional midterms only months away, and (2) young people in particular are so beguiled by the communists’ messaging, even with its not-so-veiled references to America hatred and antisemitism.

Since there has been no overt resistance to the new communists from what passes for Democrat leadership (Jeffries, Schumer, et al.), we must assume that they have either been cowed into submission or that the communists are simply saying out loud what most Democrats have believed for years. Gone are the days when “traditional” Democrat voters can continue to claim that the “mainstream” party is nothing like the lunatic fringes of it. More and more, the lunatic fringe is becoming the mainstream.

It’s no secret that Gen Z is especially receptive to the communists’ message. Given the high cost of living, especially when it comes to key building blocks such as housing, transportation, and education, many in this generation feel a hopelessness about the future and a growing frustration that neither political party, as currently constituted, has a clue how to make things better. And it seems like no matter how much the Democrat Party has veered leftward in recent times, it’s not moving fast enough for the younger generation. Hakeem Jeffries may think he has an easy path to another term and the House Speakership, but when communist supporters are chanting, “You’re next,” as he tries to express support for them, that should give even “His Arrogance” some pause.

When we look at the Democrats’ behavior during both Trump presidencies (not to mention Biden’s), perhaps we should have seen this coming. The endless pushback against Trump’s agenda, including multiple impeachments to discredit him, endless government shutdowns, calls for abolishing ICE, ignoring the major crimes committed by illegal aliens – these are all products of today’s Democrat Party. Why is it such a stretch to believe that young communists would see a golden opportunity to seize power in these circumstances? The “mainstream” party has already, however unwittingly, set the table for them.

Our 250^th national anniversary should be a time of celebrating our history of hard-won freedoms that are worth protecting. Unfortunately, every attempted communist takeover has been utterly dismissive of history as part of its efforts to usher in the “revolution.” The DSA’s lack of support for July 4^th celebrations confirms that, as far as they are concerned, we’re at “Year Zero.” This, ironically enough, expresses the worth of the communist system.